Zalesie Śląskie is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in the administrative district of
Gmina Leśnica
__NOTOC__
Gmina Leśnica, German Gemeinde Leschnitz is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in Upper Silesia in Poland. Its seat is the town of Leśnica (Leschnitz), which lies approximately south-w ...
, within
Strzelce County
__NOTOC__
Strzelce County ( pl, powiat strzelecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government ...
,
Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.
It lies approximately east of
Leśnica, south of
Strzelce Opolskie, and south-east of the regional capital
Opole
Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ;
* Silesian:
** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole''
** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole''
* Silesian German: ''Uppeln''
* Czech: ''Opolí''
* Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...
.
History
The village was first mentioned under its
Old Polish
The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language.
The sources for the study of the Old ...
name ''Zalese'' in 1223, when it was part of fragmented
Piast-ruled
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
Its name comes from the Polish word ''las'', which means "forest", and is typical of the area.
[ In the 18th century it was annexed by ]Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
, and from 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The Germanized name ''Salesche'' appeared in 1845, and in 1935, the German administration renamed the village to ''Gross Walden'' to erase traces of Polish origin.
In the final stages of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in May 1945, a group of Polish and Soviet prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
from the German Stalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
was liberated in the village by the advancing Soviet troops.Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
within which it is located, for distinction from other settlements with the same name.
References
External links
Jewish Community in Zalesie Śląskie
on Virtual Shtetl
Villages in Strzelce County
{{Strzelce-geo-stub